Madia Momentum

The Huffington Post has a story up today proclaiming, "Democrats Set To Win 20 Or More Seats In The House." Guess who had a race that was profiled as one where an Independent (who voted Republican in the past) was now voting for the Democrat? Ashwin Madia, woot woot:

Liebo, a self-described independent who doesn't much like what he calls the "far-right" drift of the GOP, over the past two decades has voted to return Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad to the House from Minnesota's 3rd District. He viewed his nine-term congressman as a "middle-of-the-roader" who worked "for everyone's benefit" in his suburban territory west of the Minneapolis-St. Paul.

But with Ramstad retiring, Liebo, 78, says this year is different. He's now leaning toward supporting the Democrat, Ashwin Madia, to succeed him.

"These open seats are the critical battleground," Ohio political scientist John C. Green said. They are, he added, "the difference between (Democrats) having a modest success and a great success."

Republicans are defending nearly five times the number of open seats than Democrats are protecting. These seats generally are considered much more vulnerable to takeover by the other party than those where incumbents are seeking re-election, because the candidates lack the powers of a sitting lawmaker, such as name recognition, money, and the kind of reputation and rapport with voters that Liebo described with Ramstad.

...In the Minnesota race, Democrat Madia "seems to be more liberal than the other one," Liebo said, referring to Erik Paulsen, the Republican candidate. Liebo also said he identifies with Madia more because both are former Marines. But more than anything, Liebo can't wait for a clean break from Bush and his policies. "I just want all those bad people to go away," he says.

Yes, yes, horray, kudos and all that to Madia (and the other pro-choice candidates), but I urge you to remain cautious and continue to volunteer, donate, and help out the Madia campaign in any way you can... as though he's ten points down. That way we can ensure we're doing absolutely everything we must do to elect our pro-choice candidates!

It's as Zack Stephenson over at MNPublius says:

But let's not get cocky. As Matt reported yesterday, Republicans are spending $1 million in a last minute attempt to defeat Ash. Don't let this seat slip out of our fingers. Donate today.

I know I always like to know what Chris Cillizza thinks, so I was pleased to see that he named Madia the "slight favorite" in the battle for MN-03:

Democrat Ashwin Madia appears to have edged ahead of state Sen. Erik Paulsen (R) in this race in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. In a neutral year, Paulsen would likely win. But Madia's grassroots campaign, his service in Iraq and the strong year shaping up for Democrats in the state make him a slight favorite.

Well, I'm pleased to report that pro-choice America is on the case to help bring change to Minnesota!

You can learn more about the race on our Race of the Week webpage. Not a Minnesota voter? No problem. See if we've endorsed pro-choice candidates in your state or district... and, as always, stay tuned for more information on the Madia/Paulson race. For more ways to get involved with choice in Minnesota, please visit our fantastic affiliate NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota. They have a voter guide you can access here.

Well shoot. That concludes Ashwin Madia week on Blog for Choice. I hope you've enjoyed it! Check out NARAL Pro-Choice America's endorsements page to see who else we've endorsed, and stay tuned for next week when highlight a slew of must-watch races!